Maneuvers on Meeting of the Russian Threat on the Black Sea Started

Today Ukraine starts maneuvers Sea Breeze joined with NATO. They will take place from 12 to 23 of July in Crimea. Preparations to carrying out of anti-piratic operation are the main theme.

Military forces of a number of states - participants of North Atlantic Alliance: the USA, Germany, Belgium and Poland will take part in maneuvers. Representatives of military forces of Azerbaijan, Greece, Dania, Switzerland, Moldavia, Turkey and other countries will also participate in maneuvers.

There were no maneuvers Sea Breeze last year as the Supreme Rada forbade presence of foreign military forces on the territory of the country. Sea Breeze-2006 was sabotaged due to mass protest actions.

- Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov being now in Sevastopol considers. - At attempts to carry our maneuvers with NATO Yushchenko always came across protest of exactly those forces that supported "pro-Russian" Yanukovich who easily agreed on Sea Breeze-2010. Communists who enter coalition with ruling Party of Regions declared that they wouldn't interfere with carrying out of maneuvers. The plot of the maneuvers looks funny - where're Somali pirates and where's Crimea? Let it be Americans, but if Navy of Belgium and Poland had plans to have drillings in Gulf of Aden? Participation of Georgia, Moldavia and Azerbaijan looks especially funny - obviously Georgian Navy plans to carry out operation near the costs of Africa using one of the remaining in its structure missile boat? To fight pirates in Somali Moldavia and Azerbaijan need to get access to the world ocean and obtain Navy. While rehearsal of operational coordination on the Crimean battle ground looks more real. Surely ships of the Black Sea Fleet of RF will act as "pirates", otherwise how absence of the Russian sailors in maneuvers could be explained?..

Coast phase of the drillings will take place on military ground "Shiroky Lan" in Nikolaev region where the Ukrainian battalion of marines and also several troops from Georgia and Moldavia will stay in a field camp.

- I have a question to the organizers of maneuvers, - Anatoly Baranov noticed. - At what part of the Gulf of Aden are bases of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldavian marines situated? Visa versa, in what part of possible battle ground of marines of these countries nearest pirates are? Sea phase of maneuvers will take place in the northwest part of the Black Sea where only the coasts of Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria could be zones of basing of pirates - two last are members of NATO, they have Naval Forces capable to reach Africa, though for some time they do not participate in maneuvers. Meanwhile the countries which are not members of NATO and do not have own significant naval forces take part in action declared by NATO... Dima Medvedev has just congratulated Yanukovich being in Livadiya and offered to develop tourism...